ASCII art is a creative digital technique that uses the 95 printable characters from the ASCII standard (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) to create visual compositions, illustrations, and designs. Dating back to the early days of computing in the 1960s and 1970s, ASCII art emerged as a way to create images when graphical capabilities were limited or non-existent.
Artists use strategic arrangements of letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and symbols to represent shading, contours, and textures. The density and visual weight of different characters create the illusion of light and shadow, enabling artists to produce remarkably detailed visual representations using nothing but text.
The history of ASCII art parallels the development of computing technology itself. Before graphical interfaces became widespread, early computer users discovered creative ways to express themselves visually using only the characters available on standard keyboards.
The earliest forms of ASCII art emerged on teletype machines and early computer terminals. Printer art, created using typewriters and line printers, laid the groundwork for what would become ASCII art. During this period, computer operators began creating simple drawings using characters as they experimented with these text-only systems.
The 1980s saw ASCII art flourish on Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) where users connected via modems to share messages and files. Since these systems were entirely text-based, ASCII art became a way to add visual elements to otherwise plain text interfaces. BBS "scene groups" began to form, with artists creating elaborate ASCII logos and signatures to represent their groups.
As the internet became more accessible, ASCII art spread to newsgroups, email, and early websites. ASCII art galleries began to appear online, preserving and showcasing this unique art form. This era also saw the emergence of "ASCII art animation" - sequences of ASCII art frames that created simple animations when viewed in succession.
Despite the prevalence of graphics on modern websites, ASCII art continues to thrive in certain communities, programming environments, technical documentation, and as a form of digital nostalgia. Today, there's renewed interest in ASCII art as both a historical digital art form and as a creative medium with unique constraints and aesthetic properties.
Throughout ASCII art history, several artists have made significant contributions to the medium:
Many ASCII artists signed their works with unique tags or handles, creating a record of authorship in an otherwise anonymous digital landscape. These signatures helped build reputations and enabled communities to recognize distinctive artistic styles.
ASCII Everything is a curated digital museum dedicated to preserving and showcasing ASCII art from around the web. Our mission is to ensure this unique art form remains accessible to everyone while documenting its historical significance in the evolution of digital art.
Our archive includes works from various artists, sources, and time periods, carefully organized and categorized for easy browsing. We strive to maintain proper attribution for artists whenever possible and respect the creative heritage of this distinctive medium.
Interested in creating ASCII art yourself? Here are some approaches you can try:
When using ASCII art from this archive:
If you're an ASCII artist and would like your work removed or would like to be credited for your work, please contact us. Similarly, if you'd like to contribute to the archive or report any issues, we'd love to hear from you.